An open letter to PEF and CSEA members:

[Darth Stateworker]

How many of the members that were screaming to the union "do something to save my job" were also people who never bothered to attend a rally, never bothered to write the governor or their senator or assemblyperson? Or for that matter, do anything to try to help themselves at all and expected the union to do it for them?

The reason for our current predicament is because far too few of us are actually active when the time to fight comes up. A union can only effectively function and fight back against a bully when the members are willing to get off their butts and do something about it. This isn't the fault of PEFs leadership. Its the fault of our membership period - far too many of you are too lazy to do a damn thing to help yourself.

The governor doesn't want the bad press, and we gave him his wish by not having enough members willing to just plain show up and draw attention to what he is doing. We've empowered him to take the actions he's taking. Didn't go to any of the rallies? Well, what's going on now are the consequences.

This contract is horrible. It has no basis in fiscal reality - look at the press releases that have come out on the financial condition of both the state and the retirement system over the past few days. Do we really want to lock ourselves into both short term and long term givebacks?

Then answer is to vote no, and then beat the governor at his own PR game. Rally - with ALL members showing up. Picket him wherever he goes. Take out newspaper and TV ads. Bring the pressure onto him for a change. He wants Obamas job in 2016 - do you really think he wouldn't feel forced to bow to negative PR if he wants that job? It's not like he's a Republican and attacking unions is going to earn him bonus points. He's a Democrat and these sorts of actions will be noticed and won't help his polling numbers. Let's take the fight to him for a change. 130,000 people can make a lot of noise if they work together, and high polling numbers or not, he would have a hard time maintaining those numbers if we all worked TOGETHER to stop his attack on us. While they are completely different situations, how did 100k plus people protesting Scott Walker work out for him? It dragged his poll numbers into the gutter. While Cuomo luckily isn't trying to take away our collective bargaining rights (yet), he is doing the same thing Walker did in one respect: asking the government workforce in this state to sacrifice more than any other group. It's wage theft, plain and simple.

Remember, what union members in the past got for us wasn't free. At some point, members had to stand up and fight for it - at their peril. If we are unwilling to stand and fight to maintain it, what's the sense of even having a union in the first place? We can get walked all over just fine all on our own and save the cost of union dues.

*Also posted on Capcon

[adirondackguy]

Well said. Very well said.

[donnah]

Yes! Unfortunately, they just won't get off their duffs and fight for themselves. Even as far as quietly checking no when they vote on the contract. They just give in and think they have to take it while complaining about it. The apathy these days is scary. I forget the exact quote but it's true that all it takes for evil to succeed is for good men (and women to update it) to do nothing. And there's a whole lot of rolling over and playing dead. As I said in the other thread, unfortunately, those with the (D) after their name think they can do anything they want and they'll get votes just because of the (D) and even more unfortunately, they are right.

I posted on the CapCon thread you linked to on the contract and said this (which will hopefully point up how short term yes voters are thinking, not that they care, even the ones who aren't shills):

All of you who are condemning those who vote no should be ashamed of yourselves. All who vote yes are voting not just for this contract but for the ever-increasing subjugation of workers in both the public and private sectors. Don’t even give me that garbage about caring about the young because you don’t care about the extremely young — the children growing up today who will face ever worsening work conditions as adults because you said it’s okay to take a hosing. A job any job, even if it’s virtual slavery.

All the comparisons to being held hostage are accurate. Only it’s not just those of you currently working who are being held hostage. It is your children and your grandchildren who are. Your neices and nephews. That bright kid next door. Your best friend’s newly baptized baby. All of them. I hate to play the think about the children card but it’s definitely true in this situation.

You say keep food on the table today but there’s no guarantee you won’t lose your job and you’re hardly going to do that, let alone be able to take them to the doctor when they need it, with the pay cuts (that’s right cuts, that is what this amounts to between furloughs and increased health care costs — and that’s without even considering inflation) and increased copays. And they’re going to need it more when their diet consists of starchy, high-sodium cheap foods instead of good, nutritious and healthy food. So don’t even give me that because these contracts will not help you support your children.

And those of you who are saying I’m voting yes because I’m close to retirement are the most disgusting of all. You’ve only 9 months ’til retirement, so eff everyone else. Wow, talk about selfish. Well, think about those increased health care costs. I am retired already and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t mightily worried about them.